bugle

¹

[ byoo-guhl ]

noun

1. a brass wind instrument resembling a cornet and sometimes having keys or valves, used typically for sounding military signals.

verb (used without object)

, bu·gled, bu·gling.

1. to sound a bugle.
2. (of bull elks) to utter a rutting call.

verb (used with object)

, bu·gled, bu·gling.

1. to call by or with a bugle:

   to bugle reveille.

bugle

²

[ byoo-guhl ]

noun

1. ajuga.

bugle

³

[ byoo-guhl ]

noun

1. Also called bugle bead. a tubular glass bead used for ornamenting dresses.

adjective

1. Also bu·gled. ornamented with bugles.

bugle

¹

/ ˈbjuːɡəl /

noun

1. See ground pine
   any of several Eurasian plants of the genus Ajuga , esp A. reptans , having small blue or white flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates) Also calledbugleweed See also ground pine

bugle

²

/ ˈbjuːɡəl /

noun

1. a tubular glass or plastic bead sewn onto clothes for decoration

bugle

³

/ ˈbjuːɡəl /

noun

1. music a brass instrument similar to the cornet but usually without valves: used for military fanfares, signal calls, etc

verb

1. intr to play or sound (on) a bugle

Derived Forms

• ˈbugler, noun

Other Words From

• bugler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bugle¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bugle, bugel, bewgal “wild ox, buffalo, water buffalo, drinking horn, (instrument) horn, bugle,” from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin būculus “young bull, bullock, young ox,” equivalent to bū- variant stem of bōs “cow, ox, bull” + -culus diminutive noun suffix; -cle ¹, cow ¹

Origin of bugle²

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English bugle, bugil, buygel, bewgle, from Old French, from Late Latin būgillo the name of the plant; further origin uncertain

Origin of bugle³

First recorded in 1570–80; of obscure origin; perhaps an extended sense of bugle ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of bugle¹

C13: from Late Latin bugula , of uncertain origin

Origin of bugle²

C16: of unknown origin

Origin of bugle³

C14: short for bugle horn ox horn (musical instrument), from Old French bugle , from Latin būculus young bullock, from bōs ox

Example Sentences

Doing so lets me avoid eating freeze-dried meals for a week, but keeps cook time to a minimum when I’m exhausted from chasing bugles.

From Outside Online

That magical show is only matched by the elk rut—when large males start fighting and bugling for the affection of females—which commences in September and carries on into October at the Horseshoe Park area at dawn and dusk.

From Outside Online

Diners are instructed to mix the ingredients with a nearby sauce based on gochujang so that each bite delivers the taste equivalent of a little bugle blast.

From Washington Post

His first gig was with a drum-and-bugle corps put together by the parish priest.

From The Daily Beast

Friends said he kept the little gold bugle with him the rest of his life.

From The Daily Beast

Upstairs in the galleries, Jim Costanzo spouted lefty politics between tunes on his baritone bugle.

From The Daily Beast

Here are bugle-horns without bugle-men, and it is a chance if we can find anybody in Greece to blow them.

From The Daily Beast

Du Maurier was one of the great names of British theatre, she regarded ‘a summons’ from him to be a ‘bugle call from Olympus.’

From The Daily Beast

Before the dread significance of these things became clear, a bugle-call rang out.

From Project Gutenberg

Incessant bugle-calls from the natives added to the commotion, and thousands of Chinese crowded into the Chinese Consulate.

From Project Gutenberg

Non-military readers may need to be reminded that the “last post” is a bugle-call which signifies the close of the day.

From Project Gutenberg

Outside, the town lay asleep, and from a gate in the old wall a sentry with a bugle blew a quiet "All's well."

From Project Gutenberg

She rode the drill every day, like any soldier; and she could take the bugle and direct the evolutions herself.

From Project Gutenberg